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Fabian Dürr Telephone: 0721 782045-261 superstar Juan Miguel Email: [email protected]

Echevarria to join world-class Karlsruhe, January 9, 2019 competition at the INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe Local star Julian Howard wants to regain his former strength

The long jump event at the INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe can now boast another attraction. Following Fabian Heinle, silver medalist at the European outdoor championships in , last year’s winner Juan Miguel Echevarria and local star Julian Howard, who came in second after the Cuban last year, have now also announced their participation. Last season, Echevarria was the measure of all things when it came to the long jump. In June, he jumped a distance of 8.83 meters at the Diamond League Meeting in . Not a single long jumper in the world had reached this distance in more than 20 years, although it won’t appear on the leader board due to the strong wind blowing at 2.1 meters/second. Nonetheless, Echevarria highlighted his great potential with this jump and went on to confirm it at other competitions under regular conditions. To begin with, the Cuban won the Golden Spikes in Ostrava with 8.66 meters, followed by an 8.68-meter jump at the long jump meeting in Bad Langensalza, with which he set a new global record of the year. All in all, 2018 was the year of the Cuban long jump star. After his victory at the INDOOR MEETING, Echevarria clinched the title of world champion at the world indoor championships in Birmingham with a distance of 8.46 meters, winning his first major international title. Local star Julian Howard aims to regain his former strength. His year started off well, as he snagged the long jump gold with 7.74 meters at the German championships in , just two weeks after securing a second place at the 2018 INDOOR MEETING. Overall, however, 2018 turned into a rather disappointing long jump year for Julian Howard. At the European athletics championships in August, he didn’t even make it past the qualification stage with two void jumps and a best of just 7.64 meters. But the athlete, a member of the hosting club LG Region Karlsruhe, plans to strike again in 2019. In addition to Gesa Felicitas Krause on the 3,000 meters and hurdles star Cindy Roleder, numerous top athletes have already confirmed their attendance at the INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe. In the , for example, Lisa Ryzih will face off against Ekaterini Stefanidi, the current Olympic champion, world champion, as well as European champion, both indoors and outdoors.

European champion Mateusz Pryzbylko’s competition includes Gianmarco Tamberi from . And two athletes who leaped onto the podium with silver medals in Berlin in 2018 will also be joining the competition – Fabian Heinle in the long jump and Kristin Gierisch in the . The 5,000 tickets for the INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe are sold out. A small number of tickets will still be available on the day. This is mainly due to technical Fabian Dürr blocks, as a result of which these tickets can only be released once the stands Telephone: 0721 782045-261 have been constructed. Email: [email protected] www.meeting-karlsruhe.de Karlsruhe, January 9, 2019 www.facebook.com/IndoorMeetingKarlsruhe www.twitter.com/INDOOR_MEETING www.instagram.com/indoormeetingkarlsruhe

IAAF World Indoor Tour 2019 stops: January 26, 2019: New Balance Indoor Grand Prix (Boston, USA) February 2, 2019: INDOOR MEETING Karlsruhe (GER) February 6, 2019: (Torun, POL) February 8, 2019: Madrid Indoor Meeting (ESP) February 16, 2019: Müller Indoor Grand Prix (Birmingham, GBR) February 20, 2019: 14th International PSD Bank Meeting (Düsseldorf, GER)